Omerta
by Taki14
Summary: Omerta - Italian, mainly practiced by Mafia; code of honor that places importance on silence, non-cooperation with authorities, and non-interference in the legal actions of others. Day 6 of 1827 month (2016)
1. Part 1 - Business

**Hello! Thank you for looking at this fanfic! *Note: if you have already read this chapter, sorry for the random updates - I was in a hurry to put this up and didn't properly make the changes as I was supposed to, so I apologize* I really appreciate you taking the time to read this! I originally wrote this for a prompt for 1827 month back in February, I think? It's obviously been too long, but nonetheless, I do hope you enjoy this. I had to split this into 2 parts because of the fact that this was originally a one shot but my brain spit out words and kept going, so technically, I couldn't find a good time to end it, and I also became very busy with my job. I'll try my hardest to make this story a very good one, and one I hope will satisfy your KHR feels.  
**

* * *

The world was silent as the stars twinkled in the night sky. It was a bit nippy, since it was the beginning of winter, and pitch dark, save for the light of the moon that lit half of the world. In the nippy cold, however, was a figure with a black, long sleeved coat that went a little past the knees, leaning casually against a building, arms folded across his chest and eyes closed as if he were asleep standing up. Opening his eyes, he looked up at a window, the only window in the building that had no curtains covering the bright inside. Sighing, he closed his eyes again and went back to his original postion of waiting. All was quiet again, until the sounds of shoes hitting the pavement were heard, and stopped suddenly. The man didn't bother looking up as he spoke.

"So. What brings you here? I thought you were making the herbivore do more work?" he asked, voice seemingly uninterested.

A deep chuckle replied. "Well, even a young Mafia boss, such as No-Good Tsuna, deserves a little rest."

"I thought you were always ruthless towards him. Why are you bothering to be nice now?" the man asked, slowly opening his eyes and looking at the fedora-wearing male several feet away from him.

"'Nice,' you say? This is not being nice, nor is this kindness. Tsuna has enough of that for both me and him. No, this is simply a short break before I become, as you say, 'ruthless,' again."

A small smirk made its brief show before the man replied back. "That herbivore is nothing more than that: an herbivore. Regardless of him becoming the Vongola Mafia boss now, he still is that same herbivore that was annoying and destroyed Namimori Middle School, disrupting the order of my school."

"Are you still going on about that? We were protecting all of Namimori, and you get mad at a little disruption. But you must admit that he ended up becoming more than just an herbivore, wouldn't you agree, Hibari?"

"Baby.." the man, Hibari growled out lowly, non-threatening, but low enough to make one back off.

The man just smiled as he tipped his fedora to hide his eyes further. "Please, I'm not a little baby anymore, Hibari. Just call me Reborn."

Hibari said nothing as he went back to his original postion, face revealing nothing. Reborn smirked and turned around to leave, already knowing what emotion Hibari was going through. Stopping in his tracks, he turned his head towards Hibari.

"Take good care of the Family, Hibari. Especially Tsuna." Reborn walked away, slinking back into the darkness.

Hibari never showed his emotions, but he sighed in irritation.

-A few days ago-

"VOI~~~~!"

Tsuna jumped in his seat at the sudden shout, the building shaking in response to the voice that interrupted the flow of the calm that settled in the air. Sighing, as he attempted to calm his heart, he began to pick up the papers that landed on the floor that he was looking at until he threw them up into the air. He wasn't all too surprised this time when the door slammed open and in came Superbi Squalo, yelling about God knows what. Instead of looking up and acknowledging Squalo's presence, Tsuna just tidied up his desk and papers, and sat back down, closing his eyes and waiting.

"VOI! YOU USELESS SCUM OF A VONGOLA BOSS! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" Squalo screamed in Tsuna's face, spit flying everywhere.

Tsuna winced at the volume level so close to his ears, and wiped the spit off of his face, then looked at Squalo, whose face was twice as red as normal.

"No, I'm not. Sorry, Squalo."

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING AS VONGOLA X?! GIVE IT TO XANXUS IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO EVEN LISTEN!"

"Well," Tsuna began calmly. "if you would calm down and talk at a normal volume, I would be able to listen to you better, instead of not being able to understand you when you're screaming in my face."

Squalo turned even more red in the face than he had even been before. Instead, he turned around and breathed in a deep breath, and let go, earning Tsuna's little smirk behind his back, before hiding it again as Squalo turned back around.

"Oi."

"Yes?" Tsuna replied.

"You got a job for us to do, or should we just go ahead and wreak havoc?"

"What for?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT FOR!" Squalo screamed again before toning it down again. "The boss is getting quite bored, and when the boss is bored, he starts killing people and causes problems for me."

"Squalo, I KNOW that you are perfectly capable to know how to handle Xanxus when he gets like this. You have been for years. Though, I DO wish he wouldn't kill innocent people just because of his boredom.." Tsuna said, concerned.

"That'a exactly the reason why I even came here. Give the boss something to do, or it causes more problems for me!"

"Wahh~~ Squa-chan! You do care about the boss~! That's my little Squalo!" a high-pitched voice said.

Squalo and Tsuna turned to the door to reveal a rainbow-colored hair male with sunglasses. He came in, almost like a busty woman trying to seduce all men with her charms, and tried to hug Squalo, who tried to cut him down, but he turned away; something about being in despair that he was trying to get hurt by his precious child, or something or other, Tsuna tried ignoring that part..

"LUSSURIA! WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" Squalo shouted.

"Ho~ my precious Squalo! How could you not know~? I'm your precious mother~ I have to look out for my children!" Lussuria exclaimed.

"CUT THE CRAP!"

"Aww, really~ The boss wanted me to check if you were doing your job~ Those were his words not mine~"

"Rhhggggg..." Squalo growled, body visibly shaking as his sword hand began to cut the air.

"Really, now~" Lussuria complained. "You should not be trying to cut someone up. If anything, you should try to cut up the boss~ but don't I don't want you to hurt the boss, Squa-chan~"

"SHUT UP! AND DON'T CALL ME THAT! WHO SAID I WAS YOUR FUCKING CHILD!?" Squalo shouted.

Tsuna sighed as they, more like just Squalo, argued and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the headache that was beginning to form. He almost succeceeded when Squalo came up into his face.

"VOI! YOU USELESS VONGOLA BOSS! DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING FOR US OR NOT!?"

"Alright, alright, already," Tsuna sat up straighter and began to rifle through his stacks of paper as his voice dropped down to his boss voice. "I do happen to have a mission from someone requesting the Varia. It's top of the class. Difficulty: 10 out of 10 stars. The pay is triple the amount than normal."

Squalo and Lussuria, by this point, had stopped arguing and were paying quiet attention to the details of the job that was being assigned. Tsuna hid a little smile and continued on. As soon as he was finished, he awaited the reactions of Squalo, since he WAS the second in conmmand, and Lussuria, who had a giddy look upon his face towards Squalo.

"So? What do you think? Is it about a 90% or higher success mission to take upon yourselves?"

Squalo pondered in silence, with Lussuria in the background, taking out his phone and telling Xanxus the mission, before Squalo loudly declared that the mission was accepted. Tsuna smiled, and gave him the folder containing the private information of the job, as well as his signature to show that he approved the request.

"Right. Well, I shall inform them that they should expect you within 24 hours. Is that sufficient enough for you?"

Squalo grunted his response as he took the file, and turned away to leave. Just before his foot stepped out the door frame, Tsuna called out.

"Oh, Squalo!" Squalo turned his head. Tsuna smiled at him and said, "Tell Xanxus thank you, and good luck to you."

Squalo blushed, turned away and grunted out, "Whatever," before shouting after Lussuria.

Tsuna smiled, and sighed in relief. That should hold off on Xanxus killing his poor innocent workers for a while. Turning to his desk phone, he called up the employer for the Varia, and told them to expect the Varia within 24 hours. Thanking them, he hung up and looked out the window, feeling even more tired than he normally felt. The Varia drain his energy way too much, even more than his stacks of paperwork. Reluctantly, he turned back to his paperwork that he had to keep working on, otherwise Reborn would use Leon and hit him again for not doing his work. Wincing, he grabbed his pen, and worked again.

"Kufufufu~" a low chuckle vibrated thoughout the room. A chill ran through Tsuna's spine as he realized who that was.

"Rokudo Mukuro. What brings you here? I thought you weren't supposed to be back for another two days?" Tsuna asked, as he stayed concentrated on signing his papers.

"My, my~ You look as serious as ever, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Won't you look up at me?" Mukuro asked, voice mischievous.

"You haven't answered my question yet, Mukuro," Tsuna warned, sitll paying attention to his current paper.

"Kufufufu~ ah, yes. I happened to finish my job early, so I thought I would check up on my sweet Tsunayoshi-kun~ but it seems that he is ignoring his lover's request," Mukuro said, showing a display of fake shock on his face.

Tsuna looked up and saw his long haired Mist guardian being dramatic again. When Mukuro looked over at Tsuna, he smiled at the bored glare given to him.

"Mukuro, we've been over this. I'm not yours, nor am I your lover. I never agreed to such a thing and I never will. Please take this seriously."

"Ah? But I am, Tsunayoshi-kun~ do you doubt your own guardian? My, my. And I thought you appreciated me~" he said, slinking over to Tsuna's desk.

"Yes, that is correct, Mukuro. I do appreciate you, but that doesn't make you any more favorable than when I first met you. You still intend to take over my body and destroy the Mafia world, even the entire world. I cannot allow that," Tsuna said, now ignoring his papers, and stood up.

"My, my. You do look even more appealing than when you were 15 years old~ your body is ready for the taking," Mukuro purred, as he stood behind Tsuna, hugging him from behind.

Tsuna shivered, and not in the good way. He turned away and began to leave the room, opening the door and waited. "Please, Mukuro. If you aren't submitting your report right now, then please leave. Have a good evening."

Mukuro smirked and started to walk away from the desk, before stopping in front of Tsuna, and caressed his jaw.

"Someday soon, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Someday soon, this body of yours will become mine. Kufufufu~" and with that, Mukuro vanished, leaving Tsuna to sigh once more in relief.

Tsuna had just gotten back into doing his paperwork when he sensed a hostile glare towards him. He turned around and looked out his window, seeing a man with a gun at his side smirk at him, before turning away and disappearing in the shadows. Getting a bad feeling, he called for his three trusted Family members into his office.

"Jyuudaime!"

Tsuna looked up to see his right-hand man, Gokudera. Smiling at how prompt his friend is at his call, Tsuna said hello, and smiled fondly at the man, causing Gokudera to blush and bow a deep 90 degree bow, and making Tsuna a little embarrassed. Next in came Yamamoto Takeshi, with his goofy smile and his carefree attitude that agitated Gokudera's own attitude, and Tsuna to stop him, but saying a gentle hello to Yamamoto. He was waiting for his last guardian to come in, when suddenly a deep voice was heard.

"I am here, herbivore."

Everyone in the room turned around to see Hibari Kyoya leaning against the door frame, looking bored and further away from the others.

"Hibari-san.." Tsuna said, breath being released as he said the name. "Please, come in. Have a seat," he gestured to the couch in the room.

"I hate crowds. You know this, herbivore. Do not test my patience," Hibari replied.

"You bastard! Jyuudaime gave you an order, so you better respect him!" Gokudera shouted as he lunged for Hibari.

"Now, now, there's need to be so rude to Tsuna, Hibari! There's nothing wrong with denying Tsuna's offer to let him sit, Gokudera. Why don't you relax?" Yamamoto said, good-naturedly to both Hibari and Gokudera, while holding onto the latter.

"You baseball idiot! He has no respect for Jyuudaime! I won't let him get away with this! Let me go!" Gokudera shouted as he tried to release himself out of Yamamoto's hold.

Tsuna sighed and shook his head. "Yamamoto's right, Gokudera-kun. Hibari has every right to refuse to sit down. Everyone has choice if they want to or not."

Gokudera calmed down, and hung his head down in shame, so as soon as Yamamoto let him go, he kneeled and begged his apologies to Tsuna, which Tsuna had a hard time getting him to stop and said he forgave him over and over. A throat cleared and everyone looked at Hibari, who was obviously getting irritated at all the noise.

"Right, back to the business at hand," Tsuna began, his voice sounding deep and low, something that straightened his men up and showed that Tsuna wasn't messing around.

Sawada Tsunayoshi may have physically changed over the years, but he was still the same old "No-Good Tsuna" inside. Throughout the battles and training Tsuna received, his body and mind had changed, one that seemed to fit the mold of a Mafia boss, but his reactions had remained unchanged, as well as his nature and his clumsiness, though much less than before. He certainly wasn't going to kill people, and he still refused to use his Mafia ways to hurt someone, but instead he used the power of the Mafia to keep his family and friends safe. Reborn kept insisting that his friends are not just his friends, but his Family, but Tsuna still rejected that idea, and calls them his friends, refusing to change his mind. As much as Tsuna refused to be Mafia, he _did_ admit that there were some perks of being the Vongola Mafia boss that seemed to benefit him: the means to protect all whom he loved and appreciated. He hated the paperwork that came with the job, but he can't really complain since it's part of the benefit of what he wanted.

"So, there's a reason why I called you three in today. I need you three to do a stakeout of the area for a little while. It's for the safety of everyone here, as well as preparation for the upcoming party in the next few days, and you three are my strongest friends to take care this. I would like this to be done quietly and thoroughly."

"Why? Is something wrong, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked.

"No, not in particular. I just wanted to be a little cautious, and make sure nothing's out of place," Tsuna replied, shaking his head.

"How long is this supposed to take, herbivore? I have another job to do, at the moment," Hibari said, ignoring the glare and growl from Gokudera.

"It's only going to happen at night, and every once in a while, during the day. It's mostly going to be around all your schedules, so, you can go ahead and do what you want or need to do. I know that there are jobs I have assigned you all, so please don't take any uneccessary measures to do this one job for me. Besides, it's just a little paranoia that should go away after making sure everything's all ok!" Tsuna laughed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Jyuudaime!' Gokudera shouted. "As your right-hand man, I shall take responsibility of this job! Leave it all to me! Forget those other two guys, and I will take care of it all!"

"Ah, no, Gokudera-"

"Hmph. Ignorant herbivore. You are no match for me."

"What did you say!?"

"Now, now, Gokudera. We can all do this job, right, Hibari?" Yamamoto asked.

"Hmmn."

Tsuna smiled. "Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate it. Now, let's talk about your schedules, and see what can be done."

After an hour, everything was ready, and Gokudera and Yamamoto had the first shift, much to the dismay of Gokudera, and Hibari would take the next one. Tsuna felt a little better, and sighed as he allowed his friends to go. He began to focus on his paperwork again, when he noticed that Hibari was still in the room.

"Hmm? Hibari-san, you're still here? Didn't you need to leave for your job right after I called for you?"

"Herbivore. There is no reason you needed to call me for a simple job as a stakeout around here. There is something that you haven't said to me, nor the other two herbivores. I will not waste my time doing this if it's something as small as a 'safety check,'" Hibari said.

Tsuna said nothing as he stared at the paper in front of him. He should've known better than to keep that from Hibari-san and the others, but he just wanted to be safe than sorry and not to make a huge deal out of it if it turned out to be nothing.

"I'm sorry, Hibari-san, I-I don't know what you mean..?" Tsuna began, chuckling a little. "I seriously am a little concerned about the safety of everyone. If you're concerned about the amount of time you are to be on this job, it's only for a short while, a week at least. I couldn't ask any one of you to take more time on this than I already have. I know you're a free spirit, and you don't like being tied to one place, but I ask this of you, because I feel safer knowing that you are around to help me protect everyone from Namimori."

Hibari said nothing, then left, leaving Tsuna a little confused as to why he would mention that Tsuna was hiding something. Ignoring the little disappointment that seemed to bubble within him, he carried on with his duties.

* * *

The building that was called a castle become bustling with energy, all the men and the women were rushing around, carrying linens and rags, and food. The place would've been a mess if not for Tsuna, who was directing the people around and giving stern orders in the middle of the room. Going through the last of his orders, he left the room and made his way to his private quarters, sighing and wiping sweat off his forehead. He reached his room, and changed in the bathroom. He found that his clothes were already placed neatly on the bed, and shook his head. He wished that he wouldn't be waited on so much, especially since he didn't deserve it, but he couldn't do anything about it.

By the time he was dressed, a knock was heard and a voice telling him that guests had arrived, to which he replied with a thank you and he'll be right out. Fixing his last minute messes, save for his hair because it was as good as it was going to get, he put on his jacket, and left his room, being greeted with a few of his men, and Gokudera, who insisted being on his right and engaged in a nice conversation.

It was a party, one that celebrated the anniversary of Tsuna becoming the tenth Vongola boss when he was just 15. It's been a few years, and Tsuna was happy with how far he came with his friends and family. Vongola IX was retired, since he was sick and needed to stay home most of the time instead of the office, but he helped Tsuna out every once in a while. Tsuna's mother stayed in Namimori, even when she was given the chance to live with her family, but she insisted that she stay in Japan, just in case anyone wanted to come home and have some place familiar. Haru and Kyoko stayed with her so she wouldn't feel too lonely, and the kids, I-Pin and Lambo, stayed until they grew up, little by little, going back and forth between the castle and Namimori. Tsuna's father, Iemitsu, went home as often as he could, bringing home gifts and foods from his travels, as well as pictures. He stayed in Italy most of the time, but he did often call his "cute wife" everyday, and talked to her for hours on end.

Upon entering the room, an announcer had called attention to all the guests and announced Tsuna's arrival, in which Tsuna gave a short greeting to all and let the party begin, as he headed to a part of the giant ballroom and mingled through all the guests, giving his individual greetings to them, and engaging in small conversation. He was talking with another family boss, when he heard his name behind him. Surprised, he turned around and was greeted with a chest instead, causing him to look up and almost fall backwards, but caught by Gokudera before that could happen.

"D-Dino-san!" Tsuna gasped.

"Yo, Tsuna," Dino greeted, smiling his dazzling smile, causing everyone around, including Tsuna himself, to blush.

"It's been a while! You've changed a lot!" Tsuna exclaimed as he looked at Dino again, and realized how tall he really was, his hair shorter, slicked back and one huge side bang covering one eye. Realizing this fact, he pouted, a little disappointed that he couldn't catch up with Dino's height.

Dino laughed a small laugh. "Well, I'm sure I haven't changed, but if the great Vongola X has noticed, then I guess I have to agree with you! Besides, I have to say that you seem to have changed the most, in comparison to when I saw you last."

"E-eh? I guess so.." Tsuna stuttered, scratching his face.

"Tsunayoshi!"

Tsuna turned and looked towards the voice, waving him over. Tsuna waved back and turned back towards Dino.

"Forgive me, Dino-san. I have guests to continue to greet personally. Let's catch up later, ok?"

"No problem. I just wanted to come by and say hi. I'll come visit later," Dino replied.

Tsuna agreed, and then left, heading the opposite direction.

* * *

"Wahhh~~! Finally! I can go to bed!" Tsuna exclaimed as he flopped onto the couch, loosening his tie, and closed his eyes.

"Haha, you did a great job, Tsuna!" Yamamoto exclaimed, sitting across from him and doing the same thing.

"Jyuudaime! Congratulations on your anniversary!" Gokudera exclaimed and bowed in front of him.

"Hehehe, ah, thanks, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna said, sweat dropping down his cheek.

Tsuna was glad that Gokudera was still around, and especially since he had managed to tone down his attitude towards others, but not towards Yamamoto, as much as Tsuna had hoped. But he didn't mind, since he knew that Yamamoto could take care of himself and let it wash over him like he usually did.

"Ah, about the job.." Tsuna began, before Yamamoto interrupted him.

"Don't worry about it, we got it. Hibari did his shift yesterday, and it's our last shift tonight. We got this handled, Tsuna."

Tsuna had full belief in his friends, so he let the subject go and moved on to a new subject. Soon after, Tsuna felt sleepy, and excused himself to his office for last minute work for another hour. After the protests of his friends, he promised them he'd be in bed after finishing the most important work, ones that needed to be done and sent in the next day. Waving good night, and greeting each person on his way, he finally made it to his office. He only had a minute of quiet before he looked up and saw Hibari on the couch.

"Hiiie!" he screamed.

Wincing slightly, but not enough to show it, Hibari was waiting for Tsuna to come back to the office.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, I am here to give my report. You have taken quite a long time to even get here. Maybe you deserve some punishment for making me wait."

"Oh, Hibari-san, it's just you!" Tsuna breathed out shakily, seemingly ignoring the threat he was just given as he made his way to his desk, removing his tie and sitting at his desk. "I'm sorry for making you wait for so long. I got caught up with Yamamoto-kun and Gokudera-kun.."

"I did not ask for an explanation. Here is my report. And I would like a new job."

"Ah, yes, yes. Thank you," Tsuna said as he grabbed Hibari's report, and began shuffling through his papers to look for the files he needed. "There's one that is just as high ranking as the Varia's current job, but you may need back-up, since -" Tsuna stopped speaking as soon as he felt a glare upon him, then continued. "- they requested it, but that doesn't seem to be necessary, since Kusakabe will be enough back-up for you, if anything."

Hibari said nothing, and waited for Tsuna to give him the file, until he brought out his tonfas as soon as he felt evil near him. Tsuna felt the same thing, then sighed, knowing what was to come.

"Kufufufu~" the voice sounded. "Well~ it's certainly late, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Mukuro.." Tsuna groaned, and let his head hit the desk. "What do you need?"

"Herbivore, keep this man away from me, or I will bite him to death," Hibari growled out.

"Oh-ho? What's wrong with a little sparring? I'll take you up on that offer," Mukuro laughed as he pointed his staff at Hibari.

"STOP THIS INSTANT!" Tsuna yelled, stilling the men in front of his desk. "I do not have time for this crap right now. Please, refrain yourselves while in MY office. I'd prefer it that you guys don't fight, but if you have to, please do it outside, away from the castle. Now, Hibari-san, let me finish telling you about this job, then here's the file for it. Mukuro, you have ten seconds to tell me what business you have here."

The two men were a little stunned that the once-nervous-and-frightened Tsuna had stopped them, once again, but both had felt the same thing: excitement. Putting away his tonfas, and bringing his staff back to his side, Hibari and Mukuro followed Tsuna's commands.

"I came for a job, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun. I have, here, my report from the last job, and request another."

Tsuna had calmed by then, and was thinking while shuffling through papers again. "Right.. I don't seem to have anything for you right now, so you can go ahead and take a few days off.." Mukuro sighed in disappointment internally. ".. Or you could do this job with Hibari-san, if you really don't have anything to do."

Hibari growled. "Is this some sort of joke, herbivore? Because if it is, you must be wanting to be bitten to death by me."

"Surely, you don't wish for something like this to happen, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun?" Mukuro asked.

"Unfortunately, I'm being quite serious, Hibari-san, Mukuro. This is a job that's not to be handled by just one person. This is why I required back-up for you, Hibari-san, even though I know full well that you could do it all on your own. But, I just wanted it to be safe enough. Thankfully, Mukuro can help out with this job. If you get it done quickly enough, the less time you will be needed to even be NEAR each other. Now, take it or leave it, both of you."

Both were silent, and both glared at each other. Soon, a sigh filled the room, and Mukuro agreed, along with what may have been an agreement from Hibari, if the grunt was anything to go by. Tsuna nodded, trying to keep the smile from showing. He signed his name, including the paperwork for Mukuro, and gave it both men. Begrudgingly, they left the room, after Tsuna told them they were to start the job in three days and dismissed them.

"Well done, Dame-Tsuna. You have seemed to gained some sort of control over those two Guardians of yours."

"Uhg, Reborn~! They are the kind of people that can't necessarily be controlled... besides, I'm not controlling them, I just want them to respect others, if not me!" Tsuna exclaimed, as soon as he calmed his heart from being shocked by the unexpected appearance of his tutor, which he never seemed to ever get used to, even when he was a baby, so very long ago.

The fedora-wearing male smirked, and went to the window. "And that's what makes you able to control them - because you want them to respect and be considerate of others, if not, then at least to refrain themselves from doing any unnecessary harm onto others. That seems to resonate within them, thus respecting your commands on them."

"Ehh, I don't think so," Tsuna replied, looking at the papers in front of him, but not really seeing.

Reborn looked in the reflection of the glass, and saw Tsuna's face, one of blankness, when he couldn't do anything more or just couldn't think. He stared out the window, and saw something in the corner of his eye. Not wanting to alert anyone, he pretended not to notice and continued his conversation.

"Well, the Family has suggested to me that you need to have some rest, even though you have important matters at hand. For now, just go to sleep tonight. You'll finish it all in the morning."

"Nhhnn.. I guess you're right.. Just two more papers, and then I'll head to bed."

"So be it," Reborn said, then was about to leave when he stopped and turned around, heading back to Tsuna's desk then went all up in his face, making Tsuna pull back in shock. "Oh, and.." Reborn's lips barely touched Tsuna's, hot breath ghosting over lightly in a chaste kiss, then pulled back and left for real this time, shouting a "good night" to him.

"..." Tsuna was too stunned. Oh, how he hated Reborn.

* * *

A knock sounded.

"Sir? I have some tea for you," a muted deep voice sounded through the door.

"Hmm? Come in," Tsuna replied, briefly looking up in time to see one of his butlers coming in with a serving tray with a cup and a pot, along with some tea bags and make his way to the desk.

"I have some tea, since I heard you'd be awake for a while, sir," the butler replied.

"Ah, thank you, Renaldo. I don't remember calling for tea..." Tsuna mused.

"You didn't, but one of the Family told me earlier that you'd possibly still be awake, working on some things, even though you should be in bed already, sir. Please, take a rest," the man, Renaldo replied as he poured the hot water and let the tea bag soak.

"I guess you're right, Renaldo. What time is it?" Tsuna asked, as he looked at the clock towards the couch. "It's 3? Oh no, Reborn will need me up in a few hours to finish these reports.."

"Please, sir. It's not a good idea to ruin your health to get some paperwork done. You deserve some rest," Renaldo brought the cup to Tsuna, who thanked him, and took a sip.

"Fine, fine, I guess I will.."

Tsuna's heart thumped. He got a feeling something wasn't right. It was strange, but he must've imagined it. He took another sip, and his heart thumped again, but this time, he felt warm, warmer than normal. Soon, he felt weak, he couldn't grip the cup anymore, and dropped the cup onto the floor, suddenly slumping over, his eyelids getting heavy. The last thing he saw was Renaldo, who wasn't moving towards him at all, before he closed his eyes.

* * *

Tsuna heard inaudible noises, then silence. He slowly opened his eyes, moving his head, which felt heavy, to take a quick look at his surroundings. Next thing he assessed was the fact that he couldn't move his arms or legs. He put the the pieces together and realized that he was kidnapped and was locked away in a basement of some sort, probably in some other Family's home base. Thinking of who might've done this sort of thing, the door opened and revealed a burly man with sunglasses in a black suit, smoking a cigar, and chuckling, followed by more of his men. The man grabbed a chair from the opposite side of the room and dragged it in from of Tsuna and sat in it.

"So.." the man began, letting out a puff of smoke from his cigar before he continued. "This is the legendary Vongola X, isn't? He's just a little rabbit!" he laughed, alongside his men, their deep rumbles of laughter reverberating throughout the room.

Tsuna didn't like being called names, especially an animal like a rabbit. Rabbits are supposed to be fast, depending on the type, and cute, and considered as a pet, not Tsuna. Tsuna was not a pet, he was not cute; his anger flared, but he did his best to not let it show - instead he put all that anger into a glare at the man.

"Oh? We glarin' now, are we? Let's see if you can keep that glare up when I'm done with you!"

Tsuna had tipped over, since he was tied in a chair, and hit his head on the floor, gasping in pain. More laughter as he looked at the man in front of him through one eye. He knew he had to stall for time for he tried to summon his Dying Will Mode, but he couldn't reach for his Dying Will Pills, nor could he summon the feelings to activate it. Where the hell is Reborn at a time like this to shoot him? So he had to switch to another tactic - conversation.

"So, what kind of family do you come from that allows you to do these kinda of things, huh?" Tsuna asked, getting the sense that the man is kinda stupid, and would actually spill whatever secrets he held.

"Hmmf," the man huffed, pride filling him. "Surely, the Romarios' Family will be able to take care of the Vongola Family Castle as soon as you are gone, and that your subordinates will be taken care of nicely..."

Tsuna didn't like the sound of that; he didn't like the sound of that at all. His anger had been building steadily, but he refused to let go of it at this time. His intuition said to keep talking to him. He took a breath and kept talking.

"What was the main reason you even took me? I hope you realize that it'll be futile and that the Vongola Family will show no mercy against the Romarios."

"Well, the main reason - we just want your subordinates to surrender themselves quietly, and maybe, we'll spare them as we take over Vongola. But if any resistance happens... there's no telling what we will do to those who do.." the man threatened, a disgusting smile clad upon his face.

Tsuna wanted to punch him, or he wanted to vomit, he didn't know, but he DID know that he had to stall for time, not knowing exactly what was going to happen in store for him, but he certainly can guess, and he most definitely didn't want to find out.

"Um, excuse me?" he asked, letting a little fear come through his voice.

"Hmm?" the man asked.

"C-can I... know your name?"

"Boss.." one of the men whispered into his ear, but Tsuna could still hear him. "It's probably best if you don't tell him. You never know if he is faking being scared. Maybe you should give him an alias."

"Nonsense!" he roared out. "What can this little rabbit do when he's all tied up like this, and at the mercy of me and my men here!? It'll be fine, since no one will come and rescue him. You, Vongola X, you shall have my name, but only on one condition."

"And what is that?" he cautioned. His intuition screamed nervousness, and disgust.

"You have to be my bride."

Tsuna kept a poker face, but inside, he really wanted to puke. He was absolutely disgusted at the thought of being this pig's wife - he was a male, for God's sake, so why should he marry this man that can't even seem to make a decision all on his own? Sighing a heavy sigh internally, he spoke with conviction.

"I'll do it."

* * *

"Dammit!"

"Please, don't break the table, Gokudera-san. I'm trying my hardest to make the results happen, but you're not making it go any faster."

"Hurry it up! We have to find Jyuudaime!" Gokudera screamed as he paced the floor.

"Now, now, Gokudera, we'll be able to find him!" Takeshi said, trying to calm Gokudera down as much as possible.

"Hrrgg, shut up, you baseball loving guy! We don't even know if Jyuudaime is safe or being... tor-"

"Gokudera!" a voice inturrupted him.

Gokudera turned to the voice, and before he could even protest, a foot had knocked him out cold.

"We're all worried and stressed about Tsuna, Gokudera. We don't need you wasting your energy freaking out when all that energy could be focused on all the efforts in actually finding him instead."

No one moved out of their spot when Reborn was fixing his jacket and his fedora, dusting himself of anything that may contaminate his clothes. Takeshi sighed, picked up Gokudera and threw him over his shoulder, grabbed his sword, all the while saying that he'll take care of Gokudera for now, then left the room, seemingly dispelling the tension that built up in the room, created by, none other than, Reborn.

"Back to our order of business. What's the status at this current moment?" Reborn asked, turning towards the remaining people in the room.

"Sir, Rokudo Mukuro has not been seen since the incident, and the last we heard from his last report was that he was still working on his current mission..."

"Has he been informed of the situation?" Reborn questioned.

"We have informed the men that have accompanied him for the mission, but no word yet."

"That doesn't give us any good news. Mukuro likes to finish his missions early and wait until the alloted time to come back and turn in the assignment, all the while secretly taking another mission for fun. Keep requesting to get them all here as soon as possible."

"Sir."

Reborn turned to Lambo, who was just sitting on the couch, lollipop in cheek, and lost in thought. Reborn dreaded talking to Lambo, but he had to question and give orders.

"Cow," he said stiffly, ignoring the full body flinch Lambo gave. "What were you doing when this happened? And why were you not near Tsuna like I told you to do?"

"B-b-b-b-b-b... but Tsuna said that he was fine that if he could see me, and I could see him, then I could go around the room and eat food and dance and have fun. He said that we all needed fun every once in a while.." Reborn wanted to punch the dumb cow, but Lambo continued. "He mumbled that everyone should have a little R&R, even 'that guy.' I still kept my eye on him, up until.."

"'Up until..'?"

"... Up until he went to his study. I heard him say that he was going to work on some more important paperwork so that you wouldn't beat him up or something like that. He was going to go into his study then go to bed."

Reborn turned to the security gaurds and demanded to show him the footage. The techs pulled it up, and showed the time Tsuna started going down the hall. Reborn confirmed that what Lambo told was true, and saw the people that went in and out of the study.

"Wait!" he shouted. "Rewind!"

The video rewound and played again. Reborn watched the last 25 seconds, and soon he saw red.

"Get Renaldo here, stat!"


	2. Part 2 - Actions to be taken

**Ok, thank you so much for these faves and reads and comments! I'm really happy that this is getting some attention! I know that I'm really horrible at updating, but please appreciate this update. It may seem a little short, but trust me, the very best part is finally coming very soon, so look forward to that! I'm trying my hardest to make it exciting, nail biting, and (I'll use this word later XP) euphoric for you, so please look forward to that. As for any questions you had about what happened in the first chapter, please leave them in the comments so I can see, and I honestly hope that this chapter was/will answer those questions for you, and if not, then next chapter will (hopefully).**

 **Ok, I spoke (typed XD) too much; enjoy the read!**

* * *

Tsuna was disgusted with himself, but... he had to do this, as much as he hated it.

Tsuna was (unofficially) getting married, and to the rival family of the Romario's, no less. This was far from his expectations of this Family, but he should've expected it, since he saw that strange man looking up into his study. He knew he should've alerted everyone, and then this wouldn't have happened, but this wasn't the time to worry about it because it had been said and done - plus, Reborn would've shot him for thinking that way. He grit his teeth, and settled his anger and disgust as much as he possibly could. Shortly, a knock was heard.

"Excuse me, Vongola. We are here to clean and dress you for the wedding," a young butler with blonde hair, looking similar to Basil, as Tsuna noted, came in and bowed.

"Uh... what?" Tsuna dumbly said. "Wait, 'clean and dress me?' What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Since you are to be married to Lord Darien, we have been ordered to prep you for the wedding, making sure you are properly cleaned and dressed. Please make no fuss, and let us do our job so we can leave you in peace."

Tsuna was beyond shocked as multiple men wearing the same clothes came in, bringing in food, then fresh towels and clean clothes, along with various sewing items and cloths. He was pushed toward the table that was in the room and sat down, reluctantly eating as the men began to measure him as he ate.

By the time he was finished eating and all the measuring had ended, he was taken to the baths, guided by the same men, and was unstripped, washed, pampered, and clothed by them in under an hour. As strange as the situation was, Tsuna was quietly glad for being pampered. He supposed this kind of thing wouldn't be so bad every once in a while, but then he remembered his friends and how loud everything would be, then he turned sour. Erasing the thought, he allowed himself to be dressed and when he was fully dressed, he looked in the mirror. He had to admit, he looked snazzy in a white tux, but he still felt no better about the circumstances that he was forced into.

"We shall take our leave, and inform Lord Darien that you have been prepared," the main butler announced as the other men had all left, leaving him at the door of the room.

"Ah, wait!" Tsuna shouted after him, before the door closed. The butler opened the door wider and came back in, waiting. "What is your name?"

"... I am called Riley."

"Riley. I, uh.. How do you like Dar- I mean, Lord Darien? Serving for the Romario's?"

Silence hung in the air, as the butler made no attempt to explain or show any sign of emotion, and that made Tsuna extremely nervous, afraid he had crossed a line with the man, but something in him wanted to know. He bit his lip in small anticipation, but still, nothing was said. He was going to say that he changed his mind and that he didn't have to answer him, but the butler spoke.

"I have no opinion, Vongola. If I'm to serve the Romario's, and Lord Darien, then so be it. Emotions are irrelevant and unnecessary when serving someone of higher status."

"But, isn't that sad, or wrong? Didn't you want to do something other than serve someone like Lord Darien? Didn't you have a dream of your own, someone else you wanted to serve?"

"That is none of your concern, Vongola!" Riley outburst abruptly. "You have no right to know what I want or don't want! You can keep your lame talks to yourself! I have no idea what Lord Darien sees in you, nor see what attracts him to you, but know this! You hurt him, you have made an enemy of me! Now, excuse me, while I let Lord Darien know that you are ready."

The butler, Riley, stiffly bowed, and slammed the door after him, leaving Tsuna to really consider what he'd just done. He was honestly curious, but he clearly stepped over a line by wondering what Riley was doing with his life. He sighed into the empty room, and sat on the bed. His room that he was transferred to from the torture room had been a huge upgrade, but he still felt anger and irritation at the many things that had happened and been said to him. It's not like he was super-duper excited to get to marry Darien, but neither was he excited for any harm to come to his friends and Family at the Vongola household. Even if Tsuna were to disagree, or die in that matter, he knew that no one will ever take that lying down. As much as he hated to admit it, everyone would do everything in their power to save him, and not let the Vongola Family go down the drain.

 _But if someone like Riley is dragged into this... wait, Riley said "you hurt him, you have made an enemy of me!" Why would he say something like that, unless...? Wait, he's not in love with Darien... is he? Wait, wait, wait, then, would it be safe to assume that Riley is in love with.. UHG, OKAY, THIS IS SO MUCH INFORMATION!_ Tsuna stopped thinking, and laid down, suddenly sleepy. _Guess I'll nap until it's time. Hope everyone else is okay at the castle.._

"Sir! It's almost time!"

"Ok! You heard it here, folks. Tsuna is arriving, and when he steps in, a signal will flare, and we're storming in. As per the usual orders of Tsuna, we are not to hurt anyone unless you are being threatened upon. We are going to get Tsuna back as safely as possible!"

"Yes, sir!"

Reborn ordered everyone to get into place, all the while, restraining himself not to storm the place and kill everyone in his path - he just wanted Tsuna safe. How he got here was surprisingly easy, to say the least, after a little convincing.

 ** _Flashback:_**

 _"Get Renaldo here, stat!" Reborn shouted, slamming his hand on the table._

 _Everyone jumped, and a few men left to go find the man. Reborn was beyond pissed. He gritted his teeth, and grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Soon enough, Renaldo was brought in, and seated across the table from the man. Everyone was silent, tension sparked in the air, felt even by Reborn himself. He let out a puff of smoke, letting the cigarette slip between his fingers and held there as he spoke._

 _"So. You're Renaldo?" The male nodded, and Reborn continued. "If you were not aware of it, our head of the Vongola family, Sawada Tsunayoshi, has gone missing. He hasn't been seen since last night, last seen in his study. Have you seen him?"_

 _Silence. "Yes, sir. I did."_

 _"Aright, Renaldo, let me give you the lowdown: you will tell me what you did with Tsunayoshi, and why, and maybe I'll restrain myself to be able to actually let you live. What do you say?"_

 _Renaldo stayed silent for a few minutes, letting Reborn's anger bubble over until he finally exploded. "Listen to me, shithead! I don't have any time to be playing with these games with you. Tsunayoshi trusted you and chose you to become a part of this family, even though you are a lowlife with no chance of a way to live, almost to the point where you were ready to kill for money. Now, tell me what happened with Tsunayoshi!?"_

 _Everyone in the room was scared of the usually calm, cool, and collected fedora-wearing male, who had suddenly gave an outburst; even Renaldo was shocked and scared. Finally, he took a breath, and shaking, began to speak._

 _"Yes, I do admit that I had something to do with Master Tsunayoshi's disappearance, but please believe that I had absolutely no choice in doing so."_

 _"You had a fucking choice dammit!" Reborn interrupted._

 _"I really didn't! Please! Master Tsunayoshi had saved me when I was at my lowest point in my life! I owe everything to him! After he did everything to give me a home, food, a family, money to support my own, I wouldn't have done a thing to him! But, I was.. I was threatened..."_

 _"Threatened?! What are you talking about!?"_

 _"... I was threatened... by the fact that if I didn't help in the assistance of kidnapping Sawada Tsunayoshi, then he would be assassinated in public.."_

 _Everyone was silent. No one could ever figure out, for the life of them, as to why they would attempt an assassination on their boss, much less kill him in public._

 _"Wait, you mean to tell me... that at the expense of saving Tsunayoshi's life, you decided to give up Tsunayoshi's life voluntarily to another Family?" Reborn asked, visbily shaking. "I don't believe that for a second. That's a fucking lie, and we all know it. You're just trying to save your own sorry ass."_

 _Reborn began laughing all of a sudden, cackling, and took another hit of his cigarette. Everyone in the room then became confused._

 _"It's so simple. You're been eyeballing us this entire time, you little shit. Tell me, who's your real Family? I know that you are an actual assassin, and you snuck into this Family to get close to Tsunayoshi. I had your files pulled up from the government, as well as any other info revolving around you. You, sir, are a wanted man in every state, country, and Family, trying to disguise yourself as a helpless man, desperate for something to keep you here in this world. You were given a great deal to help in the kidnapping of Tsunayoshi. So, 'fess up. Who is your Family?"_

 _"..." Renaldo kept silent, but as he lifted his head, he had a grin so evil, everyone except Reborn was freaked out. "You think I would tell you and betray my Family? What kind of right mind are you in?"_

 _"Obviously, none. I have no time for your bullshit. But, since Tsunayoshi had put his utmost trust in you, I have no choice but to take the talking route, since we all know that the boss doesn't want us to use violence... at least, right away..." Reborn had an equally evil smile, if not more, and that scared the other people in the room, even more than Renaldo. Fearing for the worst, everyone else scattered away, giving excuses of how they needed to get something or they volunteered to go in immediate preparation to find their boss; soon enough, the room was empty and silent, save for the soft whirring of the recording videos of the security cameras._

 _Reborn kept smoking and he ended up walking around Renaldo, almost like a predator stalking its prey - one move from the prey, and the predator will pounce, and they're dead._

 _"Let's take a different approach. How about we begin with what drug you had used to make Tsunayoshi fall asleep?"_

 _"Hah, you should know that, Reborn-san. I mean, after all, you know of every drug out there."_

 _"No shit. I'm testing you. Next..." Another hit. "The latest family you're in.. are the Romario's, correct?"_

 _"Ngh.." Renaldo grunted._

 _"Right. Based on some research, the Romario's Family has a large amount of land that they control and they aren't one to share anything they own, which is a trait that I respect, but am also annoyed by. By process of elimination and based on the most popular areas the Family most often frequents, we have already found the place where Tsuna is being held. Now. You can either confirm the location and also tell us what the plans are for Tsuna, or I can torture you until you give us the info, which I know Tsuna wouldn't want me to do so. Your choice, Renaldo."_

 ** _*End flashback*_**

After a few punches and hits, thanks to Leon transforming, Renaldo finally gave in, with the excuse of "not wanting to disappoint Master Tsunayoshi." Reborn hated to admit that he felt bad for going against Tsuna's express wishes to not use torture or any forms of violence against someone in interrogation, but it was the only way, since Reborn had that habit ingrained into him ever since he became involved in the Mafia world many years ago. Other than that, he didn't feel any worse and he could finally find his student. Various Mafia members were placed all over, every entrance, exit, and door to ensure the safety of Tsuna, but also to keep everyone in one place.

A song began to play, ringing through the venue, echoing down the halls, the song of The Wedding March. Small but silent movement stirred around Reborn, anticipation hung in the air like a puppet on a string.

"On my signal, as soon as I get the confirmation that Tsuna is in sight."

"It's confirmed. Vongola X is walking down the aisle."

"Alright, on my mark... ready..."

* * *

A knock.

"It is time, Vongola."

Tsuna turned towards the door and allowed the speaker to come in. The door opened and in came Riley, pokerfaced as he looked Tsuna in the eyes. Tsuna felt wrong about preparing for this stupid wedding, and he wanted no part in it, but in the safety of his friends and family, he was forced to do this. He took a deep breath and started to say what he wanted to say to Riley since he left his room a few hours ago.

"Look, Riley, I didn't mean to offend you earlier, if I did by my questions. But, going by your violent reactions, I'm sure I did, and I wanted to apologize to you. You're right - I don't know your situation or what decisions you made to be able to want to serve Darien or serve the Romario's, and it's my fault for making any assumptions or anything of the sort when I don't really know you. Please realize that this entire situation is something I would not like to complicate any further by making an enemy of a hardworking person like you, and that I never wanted this situation to happen. Please forgive me for my rudeness and my ignorance towards you."

Tsuna bowed as he apologized, and waited for a sign or something from Riley. Silence. Just plain silence. Tsuna wondered if he even got through to him or if Riley intended to make fun of him for bowing in front of a person of lower status than him. If it were high school again, and in terms of the roles being switched, it would be like Tsuna the teacher is bowing to Riley the student. It's certainly an unusual sight to even imagine, but that's what it felt like to Tsuna as he awaited a response from Riley.

Laughter.

That's all that came from Riley's mouth. Laughter and tears. Tsuna was so confused as he lifted from his bow and just stared at Riley. He finally calmed down enough as he wiped his tears and began to speak words.

"Oh, Vongola. You are a riot. I came in, expecting some form of mockery or reprimand, but you have taken me by surprise by your apology to me. If I may be honest, you are an enigma. I can see why you would attract the attention of so many people, men and women alike. But I must also confess... that I am very jealous of the fact that you can attract the attention of Lord Darien instead of me."

Tsuna was upset at the fact that someone could be jealous of him, HIM! The most unattractive male in his family, even his group of friends. He hadn't even found someone to marry yet (well, he can't marry the one he likes without his mother and father's permission) and yet, someone else is jealous of him? Impossible seemed to be the only word he could even conjure up.

"No need to protest, Vongola - I can see it on your face that you are ready to do so."

"Please, call me 'Tsuna.' It sounds awkward when you call me Vongola."

Riley nodded. "Well, Tsuna... as I said before, it's time."

"Oh, no.." Tsuna groaned. "I can't go through with this. I don't want to be a part of this, and I just don't understand why it has to be me. ME! Of all people! I just want to be home and surrounded by my endless paperwork, even getting beat up by my mentor, Reborn.."

"I'm sorry?"

"Reborn - he's my mentor and helped me shape who I am. I mean, it's just a long story."

"No, no. That sounds interesting. But, I mean, Reborn, as in Master Reborn? The famous Mafia baby that gets hired to raise the next heir in any Family?"

"Huh? Well, Reborn isn't exactly a baby anymore, but yeah. You know Reborn?"

"Yes, of course I do! Master Reborn is only the most famous Mafia member in the entire Mafia world! I've heard stories about him since I was a child and I will never forget them! I've always wished that I could meet Master Reborn and have him train me to become a leader of a Family. I'm just but a lowly member of the Romario's. I love serving them, though, and that's as close as I can get to being part of a Family..."

"But... what about Darien?"

"..."

"If you're not up for telling me, then that's fine. I mean, we hardly know each other, and yet, we have confessed some private things that we wouldn't really tell strangers out in public. It's not within me to pressure anyone into telling anything to me and I don't really want to make anyone feel that way."

Riley stood silent, eyes cast down to the floor, almost as if he were ashamed, or taking a long time to make a decision about something. "No," he said, after a few minutes of silence, and stood tall, but nervous. "I will tell you. Lord Darien... no, I should start further back. When I was a child, I grew up in a village that was poor but not poor enough for any Family to sell us off like slaves, like some cruel Families do to their people living near them. The Family that resided near my village were the Romario's and they were the nicest Family the village had for a long time, with history of slave traders and murderers before them.

"Anyways, the Romario's overtook the Family before them, the Rossi's and drove them out of the land, and took care of us. Some of the village orphans were even taken in to help protect the Romario's and the village itself, with the care, shelter, food, and protection being provided for them. When I was about 15, I had met Lord Darien for the first time. Lord Darien was 18, about to turn 19, when I happened to fall out of a tree I climbed to help bring down a kitten for my friend's sister, who was crying for her kitten to come down. I had managed to sprain my wrist and ankle, being lucky enough to not have lost my life or break any bones. Lord Darien helped break my fall and got a doctor to treat me, when he shouldn't have and got yelled at for it. He ended up staying with me for the remainder of my recovery, telling me stories, teaching me to read and write, all about the things he wanted to do when he grew up."

Tsuna listened with amazement towards the adoring tone Riley gave as he reminisced his days with Darien. He couldn't help but smile with him as Riley continued.

"Soon enough, after I was completely healed, Lord Darien asked to become friends, and I never hesitated to answer that question. We ended up getting into trouble together, getting hurt, scolded, chased, threatened - we had been through it all. But then, the day he turned 21, he stopped being friends with me, and he couldn't be near me anymore, due to the fact that he suddenly had to be the head of the Family since his father, Adriano Romario III, died after his birthday. So, instead of being cast away by him personally, I had an audience with Lord Darien and asked to be his servant, guard, assistant, whatever job he could give me, as long as I could be close to him - he granted me that one wish. I fell in love with him and realized it when I celebrated my 18th birthday. It's been 10 years since I met him, and seven since I've been in love with him."

"... I think you should confess to him, Riley."

"What?"

Riley looked at Tsuna in disbelief. Tsuna looked at him straight in the eyes, surprising him.

"I really think you should confess to him. I don't want to marry someone I'm not really in love with because I don't think it's really fair for anyone involved that a marriage has to happen. I know that Darien doesn't really want to marry me because he's in love with me - he's only doing this so he could be a part of the Vongola Family and take over. I know that Darien is good guy at heart, but I think that he's trying to be like his father. If you really loved Darien, Riley, I think you should confess to him and bring back into his senses, to the Damien that you know. I know that something's not right. I mean, it DOES piss me off that he attempted to rape me, but I know deep down that he's a good guy and he doesn't want to hurt anyone unless he has to."

Riley stood silent, almost as he was contemplating his emotions and decisions. He looked as if he was torn between accepting that decision, or completely denying that notion. Finally, Riley's face turned into one full of determination.

"Alright. I'll do it." Tsuna sighed and smiled in relief. "But don't think that I'm doing this for you - I'm doing it because I'd rather have you not marry him when you don't deserve that right to do so. I'm also doing this as my right as a servant protecting my Family."

Tsuna nodded and smiled as Riley turned away in embarrassment. _Now to think of how to make this wedding-not-a-wedding happen..._

* * *

Tsuna was dressed in the white suit, with a calla lily* proudly presented above his heart, complete with a small bouquet in his hand, full of daffodils and larkspur*. He sighed as he looked at the bouquet in his hands, deciding if proceeding with the plan was worth it. It wasn't too much of a grand plan, but Tsuna figured it was better than nothing, compared to before. Tsuna wondered why his sense wasn't really reacting when this all started. He started thinking about the beginning with Renaldo, and how that started, but as he finally thought about it, he found some inconsistencies that should've alerted him, but he still couldn't figure out why his sense really didn't alert him, especially when Renaldo came in and gave him that tea. Before he could think anymore about it, a knock interrupted him, yet again. It was Riley, who stuck his head in, and nodded, indicating everything was ready and it was time to get started. Tsuna let out a sigh, trying to release any nerves he had, and put on his boss face, the one his friends and the rest of the Family follow when he's about to start some serious business.

Riley put on a veil ( _"Ick... why a veil?"_ Tsuna thought to himself) that covered Tsuna's face enough that you can tell who it is, but thick enough to conceal the "beauty of the bride," Riley said almost excitedly. Soon enough, Tsuna was guided through the church they were at until they made it to the entrance where the wedding would be held. Tsuna was told by Riley that it was to be a traditional Western style marriage, so there was going to be a priest, wedding vows, organ, and choir, the full works. Tsuna was almost sick at the thought, but he stopped his train of thought when he thought of..

"Ready, Tsuna?" Riley interjected.

Tsuna looked at Riley, who looked determined to get through this. He nodded, and took a deep breath, going through the plan very briefly before indicating to Riley to open the doors. The doors opened, and there were multiple people sitting in the pews, now standing up as the organ and choir began their song of "Here Comes the Bride," the priest and Darien up at the front, with the choir to their left and the organ to their right. Tsuna refused to look at anyone, since he certainly didn't know any of them, and because he was embarrassed that he was dressed like a bride - he certainly was glad that the veil covered how embarrassed he actually was. As he got closer to the front, he could hear breathy "awws" and "oohs" from the audience, and he even heard a couple of disapprovements, much to his secret relief, and just when he stopped being distracted by those thoughts, a hand was in his face, waiting in front of him.

He hesitantly took the hand, was pulled next to Darien, and as soon as the organ played the last note and the priest was about to open his mouth the begin the wedding, a loud crash came through the window behind the pews, and in came the sounds of punches and groans of pain. Tsuna and everyone else had turned towards the commotion, and he couldn't believe what he saw.

"... Hibari-san?" Tsuna questioned.

Hibari was in a position of preparing for the next attack, when Tsuna saw someone in motion to hit Hibari on the head and he yelped, "Look out!" but before he even finished his words, Hibari had already hit the attacker, and said attacker was on the floor, knocked out. In awe, Tsuna couldn't help stare at Hibari as he moved in fluid motions to protect himself and to attack in retaliation. He couldn't help but feel something flow throughout his entire body.

"STOP THIS NONSENSE!" a booming voice reverberated throughout the church, stopping everyone in their tracks, and look around to find the origin of the voice.

Out of the shadows of the smoke that was created by the (sudden) blasting of the church came out an older man, complete with a cane, a face that showed that he lived well but held a stock of knowledge, but young-looking enough that he's nowhere near death. Everyone held in their breaths of silence, save for Tsuna, who instantly knew who the man was even before he showed himself, thanks to his super intuition.

"Grandfather!"

Everyone stepped back to let Timoteo through - the now retired Vongola IX was walking towards the front of the partly broken church and observed all that happened within five minutes of Hibari blasting through the walls.

"This is certainly shameful behavior. I don't remember any Italian Mafia family conducting this sort of behavior against another Family, in all my years I lived. What is going on here, exactly? Tell me, the head of the Romario's Family," he demanded, as turned towards Darien.

Everyone turned towards him as well, also waiting for an answer, who was just as shocked as Tsuna felt when everything started. He cleared his throat.

"Sir, I am making the current Vongola my bride!" he shouted towards him.

"But I'm not a girl!" Tsuna exclaimed next to him, fallen on deaf ears.

"Why are you doing this, Darien? This makes no sense."

"The plans will soon be revealed, therefore it doesn't matter if everyone knows now. I want the Vongola name so I can control the world - not just the Mafia world, but the entire world!"

Tsuna just glared at Darien as he spouted off nonsense, disgusted that he would use the Vongola name for an evil reason. But then Riley's voice shouted out towards them, interrupting his speech.

"Darien, stop this, please!"

"... Riley?" Darien questioned as he turned towards where Riley stood, panting heavily like he just ran 20 miles the entire time, and covered in dirt all over. Tsuna was worried for Riley, sensing something wrong with him, but Riley looked determined to say something so he didn't mention anything to him.

"Darien," Riley began as he took steps forward. "Please, Darien, I implore you to stop this madness that has begun to consume you. Ever since you became the head of the Romario's Family, you have been influenced, poisoned even, over and over again by other Family members, being told what to do and how to do them without even a word of your own decisions or counsel of others... or me.."

As Riley kept going, his steps never faltered and not for one second, did he look at anyone else he was passing by, not even at Tsuna, who was looking at him with admiration and pride, and the only time he stopped was when he was in front of Darien, face all up in his face.

"But I've had enough. I kept my mouth shut these last seven years, and I cannot stand by this anymore. I've been wanting to tell you this since the day I met you, even after all the trouble we went through together and all the fun times we had, and especially after your father died, you became more than just 'Darien' to me, but 'Lord Darien.' I miss the Darien that was righteous and beautiful and trustworthy and honest. Can I have that Darien back? Because.." it was here that Riley decided to pause and look at Tsuna briefly, who nodded at his acceptance and let him know that it was ok to continue. "... because I love you."

Darien stood in shock, not knowing what to say, nor what to do. He could only stare at Riley and then the ground. Everyone around them had disappeared, but Tsuna could tell that Riley's words were getting through to him, and hard, since Darien suddenly looked like he was in pain. Everyone else, however, were in shock by the sudden confession, almost in a scandalous manner. Riley could care less about anyone else, because all he could care about was the man in front of him only.

"Riley.." Darien's voice came out hoarsely, like he screamed for hours on end and he finally stopped.

Riley came closer to Darien to be able to hear him better, but before he could move an inch, Darien's hands grabbed his shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him. Tsuna's jaw dropped instantly, but couldn't stop grinning since he knew that this was the right thing to do, feeling that this was the way everything was supposed to go for Darien. Soon enough, Darien and Riley pulled apart and a warm smile graced both of their features, and put their foreheads together as they enjoyed their alone time. Tsuna smiled and looked around as everyone else didn't know what to do - most of the women looked like an abomination happened, but everyone else could only just stare and soon started a slow and hesitant clap, which then erupted into an echo of clapping heard throughout the area. Darien pulled away and brought his hand up and the clapping ceased, waiting for his words.

"My friends, Family... I must apologize for the manner that this wedding has gone towards. I never meant for this to happen, and I must say that this is a mistake that I almost brought upon both the Romario's and the Vongola Family. It was extremely foolish of me to become selfish and expect everyone to follow my orders without a thought."

Darien turned to Tsuna and began to walk towards him, but before he could move a step, Hibari was already in front of him and his tonfas out, ready to strike, but Tsuna screamed out in time, stopping Hibari and the tonfa being a inch away from Darien's neck.

"Hibari! Stop it this instant. Please, spare him. It's ok, he's ok."

Hibari turned his head slightly to see Tsuna in his periphery, then turned back to Darien, who was standing tall, with a look telling him that he was certainly prepared to die, that he will stay his ground. Hibari, after a moment, huffed as he gave a small side smile, one that he gives his enemies just before he fights them, and stepped aside, letting Darien go towards Tsuna. Darien dropped to on knee, hand over his heart, and head down, shocking Tsuna.

"Vongola X," he began. "Will you please take this unworthy man's word, and apology, that I deeply regret forcing this upon you and your Family, as well as promising that this will never happen again?"

Tsuna looked at Darien and dropped to his own knees, enough to bring his face under Darien's dropped face, and smiled.

"You don't need to do this, Darien, so please stand up."

He and Darien stood up, and it reminded Tsuna how tall Darien actually was, but Tsuna kept going.

"Lord Darien of the Romario's Family: in witness of all these people around us, despite the situtation that brought us here today, I hereby accept your apology and give you forgiveness, but only under one condition.."

Darien and everyone else gasped, some silently, others loud. Hibari and Riley looked at Tsuna, seemingly expecting the worst to come out of his mouth, since they both moved to speak, but Tsuna brought his hand up to silence them, then finally continued.

"... Will you become my friend, and let the Vongola and the Romario's become allies? I have read upon the information of the Romario's Family, but I also believe, after meeting you and Riley, hearing about you from Riley, whom I've come to understand that you two were very close back in the days, that you may change the way to Romario's live. You are your father's son, but you aren't your father, himself. I know that you are a very good man, and an even greater leader towards your Family. Let us become friends and equals, and help each other through whatever we can. This is not something that is for anything shady, or anything like that. I truly wish to become your friend, and hopefully, we can become a part of something even bigger than ourselves."

Darien looked at Tsuna's hand like it was going to bite him, then he shook his hand in a firm grip, smiling and agreeing. Everyone watching then clapped and cheered, and soon enough, arrangements had been made to fix the church and Darien made a pledge to donate to the church as much as possible, as a small form of apology for destroying the local church.

Tsuna helped in cleaning up the destruction made, and was feeling satisfied with himself in the participation of the cleaning, and was startled when he heard Reborn's voice.

"Oi, Tsuna!"

Tsuna flinched and was about to duck down to prepare for the inevitable hit he was going to suffer through, but instead was assaulted with a jump hug that brought him to the ground, falling ungracefully with an "oof."

"Dame Tsuna... I fucking can't believe that you got yourself into this mess. How in the fucking hell did you get yourself kidnapped? Are you actually that stupid to be trusting and naive of everyone? Huh? How dare you.." Reborn rambled on in Tsuna's ear, gripping him tightly before releasing him as soon as he realized that Tsuna was actually hugging him back and stroking his back soothingly. He was up on his feet within 2 seconds, almost as if Tsuna was on fire and he was about to be burned just by touching him. Tsuna smiled his dumb smile, one that said that he's truly happy and that everything's going to be okay. Reborn brought his hat down to cover his eyes, and he turned away, muttering something intelligible, not noticing the look of a certain male staring at the both of them.

* * *

"Ahhhh~~~~" Tsuna sighed out loud as he sunk into the couch in the common room where they had held the party, Reborn laying down opposite of him, and all the guard men that went with Reborn went to another part of the castle to get some rest, word from Tsuna being followed. Tsuna tried relaxing and was about to fall asleep, thinking that he'd go see the others and greet them in a few hours, but as soon as he thought that, who should come storming in, was none other than Gokudera.

"JYUUDAIME!"

Tsuna inwardly groaned, but hearing how relieved Gokudera was, he figured he couldn't really be irritated for being so worried about him. As soon as he sat up, he was knocked over, yet again, by Gokudera, who was crying tears of joy and gushing "I'm sorry's" all over him. He patted Gokudera's head and gave the same smile he gave Reborn, and Gokudera could only smile back and strut around the room, gushing that he got a smile from Tsuna. Shortly after, everyone else came in: Yamamoto, Ryohei, Chrome, Lambo, I-Pin, Kyoko, Bianchi, Haru, Basil, Futa, Dino, even Ken and Chikusa. Ryohei, being Ryohei, exclaimed that Tsuna was invincible, and he knew he didn't have to worry about him at all; I-Pin and Lambo, now grown up, were more or less happy that Tsuna was alright; Haru and Kyoko were exclaiming to Tsuna that they were glad that he was ok, and back safely, to which he thanked both of them. Basil was a lot like Gokudera, but more worried compared to him, and expressed his apologies, with a less "affectionate" way than Gokudera, which Tsuna was glad for, but he still felt the need to pat Basil on the back, thanking him as well. Dino was sorry as well, but Tsuna made sure to assure him like crazy in order for Dino to truly be satisfied that it was perfectly alright and not his fault; Futa was just happy to have his Big Tsuna back. Finally, Chrome, followed closely by Ken and Chikusa (yes, both these two followed and stayed with the Vongola and became members of the Family as well - Ken, claiming that he was "only doing it because he was following Mukuro, and not because he's protecting Chrome out of the goodness of his heart," and Chikusa, simply because he owes his life to Mukuro, as well as Chrome because of the fact that they are one and the same person") shyly expressed her concern and relief to him, while the other two scowled and finally agreed that they're glad he came back because he made Chrome worry like crazy (more of Ken saying this, but Chikusa just said, "Likewise.")

Tsuna could only smile and love the fact that his friends made him who he was and that he couldn't be anymore happy. As he watched his friends get into their usual routine of nagging, arguing and being just plain loud, he suddenly felt really dizzy and felt himself go limp, blacking out, not hearing the yells of his name, nor the feeling of someone catching him and carrying him to his room, bridal style.

* * *

"How is he, Hibari?" Reborn asked.

Hibari had just covered Tsuna up with his covers, with Reborn watching the male closely, mainly at Tsuna, but then Hibari as soon as he finished his task.

"Hhn." he grunted. "He just fainted; that weak herbivore."

"Well, it was understandable. He's had a rough time, emotionally and physically. Physically, mainly because, according from what I could see on his body, he was tied up and knocked around a bit. Which makes me wonder: why in the hell he didn't do anything about it? Why was he just being complacent, and weak, when it's obvious that he was so much stronger than Darien, and he was a Vongola?"

"Baby, I think that answer was completely obvious, especially to the both of us: Sawada Tsunayoshi is the kind of person who evaluates a person's will and who they are, and tries to be on less or equal footing, maybe stronger, depending on that person. That is what makes him weak, and a complete herbivore. I'd rather he look at every single enemy as a threat, thus becoming a carnivore, but instead, he tries to stay as weak as possible."

Reborn darkly chuckled. "Well, Hibari, looks like, in this rare time, we agree on something. Yes, I do agree n those points, but I also should add that that is the kind of person he was raised to be, in one form or another. And please, call me Reborn, as I said before."

Hibari and Reborn ended their conversation in mutual silence, both looking over the sleeping Tsuna.

* * *

 ***** calla lily- "most common meaning for calla lilies is purity, holiness, and faithfulness. It's commonly depicted in images of the Virgin Mary. Calla lilies are also symbols for rebirth and resurrection of Jesus in part because they bloom around Easter and in part because they are shaped like trumpets which symbolize triumph."

 ***** larkspur - "symbolizes both beautiful spirit and fickleness."

If you really wish to know more, please look them up - it's very interesting to know these flowers. I chose these two specific flowers because it felt right to include these kinds that really represent Tsuna and his situation - besides, the best flowers are coming up as well, and look forward to those meanings/symbolism for those upcoming flowers! See you in the next chapter! :)


End file.
